Serriya
by The Tram
Summary: Serriya Angeles was raised to earn money for her Masters, but when the Underground Downworld Gambling Den is uncovered by the London Shadowhunters her world is turned upside-down. Now a free woman she is searching for the truth of her past, her identity and her father, a warlock. And along the way she may just find love.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello all. I love the Infernal Devices set, but if I'm honest I always thought Jem deserved more than Tessa. This story picks up at the end of Clockwork Angel. Please enjoy the read. I welcome any and all constructive criticism. Thank you!**

 _Serriya_

I wrap my body around his, pinning his arms to his sides with my legs. One, two, three times, my fist connects with the left side of his head by his ear. He struggles to get free of me. I throw my weight to the left knocking him off balance and he falls. Landing on top of him I continue to reign down blows on his head. Blood flows from his nose and above his eyebrow and beside his ear. My hands are quickly soaked in it. In desperation he reaches for my long braid of hair and yanks it, trying to throw me off balance. I duck my head close to his chest to keep myself from falling sideways and slam my elbow into his throat. He chokes and coughs desperate for air. Rolling off him and land several blows to his ribs. I feel three of them break with a sickening _crack!_ He passes out and I hear the bell sounding our fight is ending.

"Once again, ladies and gentlemen, the winner is...Serriya Angeles!" The fight master comes to my side and holds my bloody fist in the air as the crowd cheers, yelling my name like a chant. Collectors move through the crowd collecting money owed on the fight. The master pushes me to the back of the ring where Keeper waits. As he wraps me in a cloak and starts cleaning my hands he whispers how well I did and how happy the Master will be with me. He guides me back to my lavish prison where I will rest until I am called upon for my nightly occupation.


	2. Chapter 2

_Jem Carstairs_

The Manor is old, built in the early 1800's. It is supposed to be abandoned, but for weeks now, Will and I have investigated and underground fighting ring where Downworlders are pit against each other. Some of the fights are until one gives up. Others are to the death.

Will, of course, was the first to hear of this Fight Ring's existence from one of his less reputable acquaintances. He had been visiting an opium den, finding the drug I need, when the dealer gossiped to him about "losing more money than usual at the rings the night before". At first Will was curious about entering the ring himself to earn some extra cash, but as he asked around about the Ring the more foreboding it seemed until finally, one of London's warlocks who had lived to tell the tail, gave Will all the details on the Ring.

Will and I enter the ancient De Avenir Manor, it's heavy wooden doors surprisingly silent as we push them in. Someone has oiled them recently. While the outside of the manor looks as run down as one would expect for a building abandoned decades earlier, the inside is quite lived in. Everything is polished and clean. The foyer is elaborately decorated. Clearly the lost heir of the De Avenirs is used to entertaining the higher class citizens of London.

As we search the building it becomes apparent that the first floor is used to hold lavish parties as well as meetings of a smaller scale, most likely for the heads of the club to discuss business. Many of the doors have gold plates nailed to them with the words _Maitrise De La Avenir_ engraved on them. I recognize the French words: Masters of the Future. This club thinks very highly of themselves.

We head to the sub-levels of the building next and find what we are searching for. The basement is an expansive room stretching from one end of the house to another. Row upon row of tiered cushioned chairs line the room and in the center is a huge cage. It is elevated to allow those attending the fight to have a better view. The wire mesh extends from the platform to the roof above. No matter what the fighter's ability is there is no way out of the cage. Blood stains nearly every inch of the floor and a clearly dead warlock lies in the middle of it. They haven't had time to clean him up yet.

"Jem, look out!" I turn sharply when I hear Will's warning and pull my cane blade free of its sheath just in time. I hear the sharp clang of my blade clashing with another thicker weapon and find myself grateful for the strengthening runes folded into my blade which keeps it from snapping in two. It becomes apparent immediately that I am a better swordsman than my opponent. A moment later the man lies dead at my feet. Will, also, has dealt with an attacker and has come to stand beside me.

Together we both race up the stairs to the main floor and are greeted by six more men all brandishing an array of weapons. Will eagerly jumps at our would-be killers. I follow him into battle, parrying and slashing at anyone within arms reach. One of the men breaks from the group and runs up the stairs. I give chase as Will dispatches the last of the attackers on the first floor.

The second floor is a maze of hallways, all covered in blood red carpets. Identical tapestries hang on the walls at equal intervals. The front hall overlooks the floor below with other corridors leading off to the left. A faint sound echos down the third hall and I chase it, careful to keep my footsteps silent. The hall veers suddenly to the right and I see him. He is exiting a room on the right of the hall and the moment he sees me he slams the door shut behind him and faces me.

This man is more skilled than the others and I have trouble keeping up with him. It is more luck, than skill that I gain the upper hand and land a blow on his sword arm, cutting threw his flesh to the bone. He drops his sword and screams in agony. Will arrives a moment later ready for a fight, but relaxes when he sees my opponent already on his knees.

"Well done, Jem." The man is breathing heavily, but manages to laugh at us, a choked, raspy sound. Will and I both look at him.

"Foolish Nephelim. You have no idea what's coming. We are few, but we offer up many." I notice too late the pill in his mouth. He bites down hard, crushing it in his teeth and almost immediately starts choking on the poison. Will and I stare dumbly at him.

"Well that was something then, wasn't it?" Will says matter-of-factly. I shake my head trying to make sense of it all. Why would he kill himself? Will is prattling on as he usually does when I remember the door to our right; the door our now dead enemy was so eager to reach. I step over his body and turn the handle. The door swings open easily and what I see inside is the last thing I expected.

The room must be as magnificent as it was the day it was built. The carpet in this room has been recently replaced. There are paintings on most of the walls, all originals of famous work. Most of the room is unfurnished. A large bookcase takes up most of the left wall of the room. The only other piece of furniture is a giant four poster bed covered in thick blankets. As I stare I realize the bed is occupied by a small, beautiful woman. She is clearly unconscious and upon a closer look I can see the blood soaking the blankets around her.

"Will, come quick!" I shout before rushing to her side. I check her for the source of the blood, but can find no injury on her. Will arrives beside me. "She seems fine, but we can't leave her here." Will groans.

"Charlotte is not going to like this. We already have Tessa staying at the Institute."

"Look at her hair, Will. She's clearly a Downworlder. The Accords demand that we take her in." I wrap the blanket from the bed around her petite body and follow Will out the door.


	3. Chapter 3

_Serriya_

I wake slowly and force my eyes open. The room is unfamiliar too me. It's cold and huge with small beds lining the walls and giant windows. I can feel panic threatening to take over my mind and try desperately to push it down. There is only one door in or out of this room and it's at the far end, standing open.

After a few moments I slide out of the bed. The hard stone floor is freezing under my bare feet. A loose nightgown hangs from my shoulders, many sizes too big for me, but at least it covers me. I tiptoe across the room and nearly collide with a dark haired boy who walks through the doorway at the same moment I reach it. Yelping in surprise, I try to walk backward away from him, but trip over the hem of the nightgown and fall on the floor with a thud.

The boy stares at me amused before leaning out the door and shouting, "Jem! Hurry up! She's awake!" He looks back at me and a moment later another boy joins him. This one, Jem, has silver hair. He's thinner than his companion with captivating silver eyes that slant strangely. His features are softer and more welcoming than the first boy's. He glares at the dark haired boy when he sees me sprawled on the floor and moves to help me up. I scoot backward away from him and stumble to my feet on my own. As I stand I pulling the skirt up so I don't trip on it again. "Do you have a name, or should I make one up," the first boy asks. Jem glares at him again.

"Have your manners completely abandoned you today, Will?" Will shrugs and merely waits for my answer. While he is more polite, Jem is clearly just as curious.

"My name is Serriya Angeles. At least, that's what the Master and Keeper call me." Jem and Will exchange a look.

"Do you know anything about the house you were in when we found you?" Jem asks.

"Of course. The De Avenir Manor. It's been in the Master's family for generations, though he's moved the main of the business outside the city. I was to be moved next week." I cross the room and sit on the bed I woke up in a few moments before. "Keeper was sent on ahead of me." I stare at my hands, playing with my little silver ring, lost in thought.

"We should let you rest," Jem says and tugs at Will's arm. "We'll help you settle into a more comfortable room later." They leave me alone with my thoughts.

 _Keepers are not supposed to interact with Kept. However, my Keeper saw me more as a daughter than a prisoner. My mother had been an angel. She had been captured years earlier by the Maitrise De La Avenir and kept as a slave. She had been tasked with the seduction of a prominent Downworlder; a warlock. When her task was completed she was locked in the manor. Nine months later she gave birth to me. When I was placed in her arms and she saw me for the first time, terror filled her and she tried to kill me. The Master killed her instead. From the day I was born I was cared for by the man I call father, my Keeper._

 _As I grew up he taught me to read and to write; skills that were forbidden to most Kept. I learned to speak many languages. They taught me the skill of seduction and the art of love. I mastered many forms of combat. All the while, I was marked as an oddity by my hair and my eyes. I was twelve when I was entered in my first Cage Match and thirteen when my first Night Visitor came. It was Keeper who cared for me after a battle or a particularly cruel companion. The men who watched the Cage Matches seemed to enjoy dominating the undefeated woman of the Ring._

 _Anything that would earn the Master money I was made to do. One night, Keeper told me the story of my birth. He gave me a small ring with the initials M. B. etched inside of it. He said it belonged to my father._

 _I had just defeated yet another opponent in the Ring and finished entertaining that night's guests when one of the Club Guards had come to my room. I remembered the blade biting my throat and the world going black. That was the last thing I knew before waking up in the Institute._


	4. Chapter 4

-I APOLOGIZE: My computer is currently dead. I am logging in from a library computer to add this note. I promise to update soon.

Thank you


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